France announces ban on petrol and diesel cars within a generation

Emmanuel Macron is shown an electric car in 2016. His proposal forms part of an ambitious plan to meet targets under the Paris climate agreementERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Britain has come under pressure to phase out diesel and petrol cars after the French announced plans yesterday for an all-out ban.

The sale of vehicles that use an internal combustion engine will be outlawed in France from 2040 as part of a shift towards electric cars. Under proposals outlined by President Macron, France aims to become carbon-neutral by 2050. Diesel and petrol vehicles make up about 95 per cent of new cars on its roads at present.

The move forms part of an ambitious plan to meet targets under the Paris climate agreement, weeks after President Trump revealed that the United States would pull out of the 2016 deal. France is the first state in Europe to announce a deadline after which all cars…